Chair-seat.



No. 669,2. Patented Mar. 5, |901.

W. BRAASCH.

CHAIR SEAT.

(Application led July 27, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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TTEE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM BRAASCH, OF SIIEBOYGAN, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO THE SIIEBOYGAN CHAIR COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

CHAIR-SEAT.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent 1\T o. 669,112, dated March 5. 1901.

Application filed July 2'7, 1900. Serial No. 24,986. (No model.)

To @Z whom it may con/cern.- p

Be it known that I, WILLIAM BRAASOH, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Sheboygan, in the county of Sheboygan and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chair-Seats; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention has especial reference to what are known in the trade as bent-wood chairseats; and it consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts, as will be fully set forth hereinafter, in conneci ion with the accompanying drawings, and subsequently claimed.

In the said drawings, Figure l is a plan View of myimproved seat partly broken away or in section to better illustrate certain details of construction. Fig. 2 is a front edge elevation of the same, partly in section, on the line 2 2 of Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal central sectional View taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a transverse central sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. l. Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the front piece of the seat-frame partly broken away or in section at each end. Fig. 6 is a plan View of the U-shaped sides and rear portion of the said seat-frame, showing also dowel-pins in place for uniting the same to the said front piece of the frame. Fig. 7 is a detailview of one front corner of the seat proper.

Referring to the drawings, A represents the chair-seat proper, the same being preferably formed of thin layers of wood cemented together and steamed and pressed into the desired shape, although the seat may be formed of a single piece of wood, if desired. The side and rear edges of the seat A are shown beveled on the uppersurface, as indicated at a, while the front edge is shown Vertical, as best indicated at b in Figs. 2 and 3. B represents the front piece, and C the continuous U-shaped sides and rear piece, of the seatframe, the piece C being formed with a shoulder or support c all around its inner edge for the seat A to rest upon, the upper part of the piece C projecting inward over the edge of the seat A, as shown at CZ, the described seat edge a thus fitting in a continuous groove, whose walls are shaped to conform to the contour of said seat edge, the part d having an undercut beveled surface, as shown.

The seat A is preferably of what is usually known among chair makers as saddle shape, with its highest elevation in the front central part e and its lowest depression in longitudinal central line therewith adjacent to the rear of the seat, as shown at f, with other and shallower depressions at each side ofthe central elevation e, as indicated at g g, although these peculiarities of shape of the seat are merely preferable and not of the essence of the invention. The front piece B of the seatvframe is formed of a length to fit between the forward ends of the U-shaped portion C of the said frame, to which it is united by glue, and the doWel-pins h h, fitting in mortises The upper surface of the front frame-piece B is shaped to conform to the contour of the corresponding portion of the seat A, and at its ends the piece B rises only to the height of the shoulder c of the part C.

In constructing my improved device the part C of the seat-frame may be formed from a single piece of wood shouldered and channeled or grooved, as described, and formed (preferably by bending) into the U shape illustrated in the drawings and the front piece B united thereto in any desired manner, and then the seat A, previously steamed and pressed into the required shape, is merely slipped or pushed to place, with its edge dsecurely held in the continuous groove or channel between the shoulder c and upper part d of the said part C, after which it may be secured in any desi red manner, as by glue alone, or by nails, screws, or pins, or by all or any of these agencies, resulting in the formation 0f a very attractive, comfortable, and economical chair-seat.

The described continuous groove between the parts c and d of the U-shaped portion C of the seat-frame is of especial importance, as when the seat proper is made of a series of thin veneers the described beveled edge of the seat A is wedged into the described beveltopped groove in the part C, and thereby the edges of the diiferent veneerlayers are wedged firmly together and also covered up and protected not only from wear, but also from air and moisture, which otherwise might act on IOO the glue which unites the said layers together and cause the layers to separate, besides which the clothing of the user would tend to tear the layers apart if their edges were exposed. While I do not limit myself to the precise arrangement of the dowels herein illustrated and described, the same will be found advantageous, and in practice in applying my seats to chairs the rnortises for the front legs of the chairs would be formed between each pair of dowels through the ends of the U-shaped part C, as indicated by the dotted circlesjjin Fig. 6, and hence the said dowels give added strength to the structure and protect the said mortises, guarding against the splitting oi of the seat-frame at these points. Further, by inserting the front piece B of the seat from between the front ends of the piece C the joints between these parts are covered by the seat proper, A, and the grain of the wood of the piece C runs out straight to the front ends and shows a complete frame-border uninterrupted by any cross-joints.

From the foregoing it will be understood that the formation vof the described beveltopped groove between the parts c and d of the portion C of the seat-frame and the corresponding beveltopped edge of the side and rear portions of the seat A is of the very essence of my invention, as thereby a new result is obtained-namely, the wedge fit of these partswhich is impossible with the old style of seat-frame grooves heretofore employed, thereby greatly enhancing the value of the chair-seat aud insuring greater longevity thereof, and this I believe to be absolutely new and of my invention. Further, so far as I am aware, I am the first to ever secure the front piece of a seat-supporting frame of this general character between the front ends of the continuous side and rear piece of said frame and with the front edge of said seat resting on the said front piece, covering and protecting the joints between the said front piece and the front ends of the said continuous side and rear piece of said supporting-frame, and this is also of the essence of my said invention and results in the production of a stronger, better, and more attractive chair-seat. than one of the old style, with the front piece extending outside of the ends of the side portions of the supportingframe and secured in front of said ends instead of between them, leaving the objectionable exposed cross-joints, which render the seat much weaker and less attractive in appearance.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a chair-seat, the combination with a supporting-frame,havingacontinuous groove inthe inner surface of its side and rear portions, and a front piece secured between the front ends of the sides, of a bentwood seat having its side and rear edges corresponding in contour to the shape of the walls of said groove, and tted therein, the front edge of said seat resting on the upper surface of the said front piece of the said supporting-frame.

2. In a chair-seat, the combination with a continuous supporting-frame having a contin nous groove in the inner surface of its side and rear portions, and a front piece secured between the front ends of the sides, the said front piece at its ends rising only to the plane of the lower wall of said groove, of a bentwood seat supported within said groove, and with the front edge of said seat resting on the said front piece, and covering and protecting the joints between the said supporting-frame and its front piece.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Sheboygan, in the county of Sheboygan and State of Wis consin, in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM BRAASCH.

Witnesses:

THos. MCNEILL, CHAs. W. KNEEvERs. 

